The parentage of Mary Sylvester, wife of Richard Edgerton, has not been
established.It has been proposed
that she may have been connected to the family of Giles and Mary (Arnold)
Sylvester, two of whose sons, Nathaniel and Constant, were among the original
purchasers of Shelter Island, New York.Shelter Island lay off the northern coast of Long Island, just a short
crossing to Saybrook, on the southern Connecticut coastline.The Sylvesters were merchants, engaged in
the sugar and lumbering industries, so it seems probable they did business
with the English colonists in southern Connecticut.Members of the family lived in Shelter Island, New York,
London, England and Barbados, having arrived from Amsterdam, Holland, where
Giles Sylvester Sr. died circa 1652.

Mr. Henry B. Hoff, F.A.S.G., in his excellent
summary of this family (“The Sylvester Family of Shelter Island”,The New York Genealogical and
Biographical Record, 125:1, January 1994) lists only two daughters of
Giles and Mary (Arnold) Sylvester:Grace, who married Robert Kett, and Mary, who married Isaac
Cartwright.The latter daughter is
referred to in other accounts of the families as “Mercy” (see Joanne McRee
Sanders, Barbadoes Records: Wills and Administrations, 1979-81, 1:324,
wherein an abstract of the will of Constant Sylvester, son of Giles and Mary,
is given.)Likewise, genealogical
notes by Robert C. Edgerton of Naples, Florida, refer to daughters Mary and
Mercy.If Mary and Mercy were indeed
distinct daughters (Mercy being the wife of Isaac Cartwright), the former’s
absence in further documents relating to this family is conspicuous, and
suggests that she had died young or been alienated from her family.The wills of Giles Sylvester’s sons,
Constant, Peter, Nathaniel and Giles, all written after the marriage of
Richard Edgerton and Mary Sylvester, make no mention of a sister, Mary
Edgerton, much less any familial relationship to Richard Edgerton.On the contrary, it would appear that
Giles’ younger daughter (whether “Mary” or “Mercy”) was married instead to
Isaac Cartwright.

Further investigation into a possible will for
Giles Sylvester Sr. (presumably in Amsterdam) may shed some light on the
number of his daughters and their names; however, since Giles died prior to
the Edgerton/Sylvester marriage, the necessary evidence of any familial
connection to Richard Edgerton of New England is not likely to be found.

The five sons of Giles and
Mary (Arnold) Sylvester were born circa 1613 – 1632(presumably in Amsterdam, Holland).While Constant, Nathaniel and Peter each had a daughter named
Mary, none were born early enough to be the wife of Richard Edgerton.Whether Mary (Sylvester) Edgerton was
otherwise related to this family remains to be discovered.It is certainly not improbable that she
was a cousin or other relation of the Shelter Island Sylvesters.Current research into the family of Giles
Sylvester Sr. has produced evidence of only one brother, Geoffrey (aka
“Jeofrie”), who was mentioned in the will of Giles’ son Peter.For a detailed account of the family of
Giles and Mary (Arnold) Edgerton, please consult Mr. Henry B. Hoff’s article
cited above.See also, Jacob Edward
Mallman, Historical Papers on Shelter Island and its Presbyterian Church,
New York, 1899; and, Harry D. Sleight, Sleights of Sag Harbor, Sag
Harbor, New York, 1929.

Our thanks are extended to
Mr. Robert Wolfert, of Ronkonkoma, New York, for compiling and providing the
research materials presented here regarding the Sylvesters of Shelter
Island.Mr. Wolfert, in cooperation
with Mac Griswold, archivist for the Sylvester Manor, is currently examining
possible avenues for future research into the ancestry of Mary Sylvester.